Aeneas tightly clasped
a golden tree bough in his hand. It would give him safe passage on his
terrible journey  to the underworld to seek out his father, Anchises.

The Trojan hero followed
his guide, the wise woman, the Sibyl of Cumae, deep into the dark forbidding
cave that led to the land of the dead. They traveled the road of lost
spirits, shadows adrift, and frightening horrors of disease, death, and
discord until they reached two rivers. Charon, the ferryman of the dead
and buried, reluctantly rowed them across while Cerebus, the three-headed
dog of hell, furiously barked at these visitors from the world of the
living.

Aeneas kept going.
He passed through places of sorrow and punishment until finally he reached
his destination: the Elysian Fields, the beautiful eternal home of those
who had lived a good life. His father was waiting. Anchises embraced his
son. Then he showed him a wondrous vision: the future! Aeneas looked in
awe at his own descendants to come. He saw that they would do great deeds
and become a great people, the Romans. Aeneas was dazzled by the revelation.
He held his father close one more time, then returned to the land of the
living  and set sail for Italy.

The
Romans renamed the Greek gods and goddesses, and redirected their myths.
Greek myths could overlap, interlock, or even contradict each other. They
served many purposes. Roman myths were for the sake of Rome. They were
used to re-create the city's history, for example, its descent from Aeneas,
to explain Roman society and to reinforce its rules, rites, and customs.